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Police: Waiting to Storm Classroom Was "Wrong Decision, Period"; Protests Erupt Outside NRA Convention in Houston; Interview with State Senator Roland Gutierrez (D-TX) About the Uvalde School Shooting; Holiday Weekend Gas Prices Hit 10-Year High Adjusted for Inflation. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired May 28, 2022 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:00:17]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

A major call to action today from Vice President Kamala Harris after back to back mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: On the issue of gun violence, I will say as I've said countless times, we are not sitting around waiting to figure out what the solution looks like. You know, we're not looking for a vaccine. We know what works on this. It includes let's have an assault weapons ban.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: In Uvalde, it's outrage on top of grief. A top Texas law enforcement official admitting the gunman who killed 21 people at Robb Elementary School could have, should have been confronted sooner.

Parents demanding answers. Why? Why were police reluctant to immediately engage with the gunman? One explanation the Texas Department of Public Safety initially gave to CNN is that the officers could have been shot or killed, but we now know the mind-set goes directly against Texas protocol for school shooter situations, which Uvalde police trained for just two months ago.

The manual states as first responders, we must recognize that innocent life must be defended. A first responder unwilling to place the lives of the innocent above their own safety should consider another career field.

Armed officers circled the building and up to 19 of them were inside a school hallway just feet away, kids and teachers in two classrooms were utterly helpless against the gunman. Young kids, some covered in the blood of their friends dialed 911 begging for help. Nearly 80 minutes after the gunman first entered the building he was finally shot and killed by an elite border parole team. The gunman waited for them in a closet shooting at them when they breached the door.

19 children and two teachers gone. This would have been their first weekend of summer break. Instead their families are planning funerals.

CNN's Adrienne Broaddus joins me now from Uvalde. Adrienne, what are you hearing from parents there?

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, the parents here are hurt. And that hurt is layered. There's the element of grief that they're dealing with as they prepare to bury their children.

As you mentioned, this is the first weekend of the summer break, but it's not like any other summer break. They're not talking about trips and things they're going to do over the summer. They're talking about what happened here at Robb Elementary School.

And along with that hurt, the anger is building as the time line of what didn't happen inside of the school becomes more clear. These parents want to hold someone accountable. They are saying we can't hold the shooter accountable. Yes, he's the person that pulled the trigger, but he's dead.

want to know why the person who was in charge of this scene that day on Tuesday told his officers or withheld his officers from going in, and they also want to know why the resource officer wasn't on campus.

And the anger also rose as little nuggets from that Tuesday continue to come out. Another example of that hurt and pain, knowing when the resource officer did return to the campus he drove directly past the shooter. Listen to some of their complaints.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER GAITAN, DAUGHTER WAS IN ROBB ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOOTING: They were not concerned about the real trauma that was happening inside. Honestly, I think they did. They waited too long. Too long because I was out here. I was out here.

And I mean I'm not the only parent that witnessed it. It's sad that a lot of parents witnessed it. And then to see that they're saying that it was -- you know, they got in here quick and handled business. That is not the way that happened.

ALFRED GARZA, DAUGHTER AMERIE JO KILLED IN ROBB ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOOTING: Had they got in there sooner and somebody would have taken immediate action, we might have more of those children here today including my daughter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROADDUS: And that was the voice of Mr. Garza you heard from. His daughter was one of the 10-year-olds that he believes called 911 from a room inside of the school using the cell phone she got about two weeks ago for her birthday.

Behind me you'll notice that there is an ambulance here. Just to paint the scene for you, it's extremely hot. It's so hot on the bottom of my feet I can feel the heat. And there are people who have been lining up despite the heat to pay their respects.

Off camera you can't see it, but there's a line that starts behind me, and it stretches the length of this street as people wait to lay flowers on the lawn of the school.

[17:04:55]

BROADDUS: And I also want to point out there is a state trooper. You may see him walk into the camera shot. His name is Trooper Lister. He's been taking the cameras of people that are here, taking a photograph of them as they go to lay the wreaths -- or their flowers, their floral arrangements.

And I asked him why are you doing this? He said "I know they want a picture, and it's the least I can do to help this hurting community when some have stood in line for so long in this heat."

But Jim, just to tie things up, you know, there's outrage, especially with that 911 time line. They know students were inside Room 111. Students were also inside Room 112. One caller told the dispatcher at least eight to nine people are alive. Please send someone. Jim.

ACOSTA: Adrienne, just incredible. I mean I don't want to put you on the spot there, but if there's any way to point the camera and show that line of folks, I don't know if that -- you might have to shoot through a lot of other live shots there, the picture that you're painting is just -- it's heartbreaking. The community coming out and pouring out their hearts in this way.

BROADDUS: So I'll ask our photojournalist Harlan to slowly pan over, and you can see this area that's to the right of me, there was a news crew here. That crew has left.

And that is the state trooper that I was just telling you about. You see he's also taking the flowers that people bring and laying them down.

And it's quiet here. The loudest sound is the hum of our satellite trucks and our live trucks and the fans that are blowing to keep the equipment cool.

But there's so much hurt. There's so much pain. Just a few blocks away from here I spoke to some teachers in a neighboring district and they are upset. They said it was the instinct of those teachers, the two who died at this school behind me to jump in front of the shooter and shield their students. And they want to know why didn't the officers come in.

And as the talk continues about possibly arming educators with guns, they say that's not what they want. They want the officers to come in and there's a lot of finger pointing and blame happening too, Jim. ACOSTA: Absolutely. And people are sick of the finger pointing.

They're sick of the blame game. They want answers.

But that scene that you just painted there and thank you to Harlan so much for pointing the camera and showing us that as well. It just breaks your heart that they have a police officer who is willing to go up there and take a picture of folks, you know, laying down flowers and so on.

It just goes to how this is such a -- just a heart wrenching situation down there.

Adrienne, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Thanks for that live report.

With growing outrage surrounding the police response in Uvalde, some parents are calling for accountability for the delayed response.

We're joined now by CNN law enforcement analyst and former Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police officer Michael Fanone and CNN counterterrorism analyst and former CIA counterterrorism official Phil Mudd.

Michael, let me go to you first. Thanks, gentlemen both for being with us. We appreciate it.

Michael, the school district police chief who decided not to breach the classroom, I keep coming back to this one. I can't understand it.

You were someone who ran into the fire on January 6th. Your reaction to learning about these officers standing back as these parents were begging for them to go in as 911 calls were coming in from the kids inside the classroom. I don't understand it. What's your reaction, Michael?

MICHAEL FANONE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, I mean, I don't want to get out ahead of the incident report. I think it's important that, you know, before we start condemning the officers and the incident commander that we have a full understanding of what they were experiencing, what they were seeing on the ground and in the moment that they were making those judgment calls.

That being said, you know, I was a D.C. police officer for almost two decades. I was exposed to the active shooter training almost immediately after it was introduced to the law enforcement community.

A police officer's primary responsibility is the preservation of life. And in that circumstance, it required the taking of the shooter's life. I also know that, you know, an active shooter is a threat classification, and it remains so until that threat is neutralized.

There's no transitioning from an active shooter to another threat classification, at least not in the training that I'm familiar with.

ACOSTA: Yes. And what do you think, Phil?

[17:09:44]

PHIL MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: Well, I agree with Michael. I mean, having seen a lot of difficult situations including the fingers in some ways maybe appropriately pointed at the CIA after 9/11, making judgments before the facts are put together, especially in a circumstance where a lot of witnesses in a tense situation will have contradictory remembrances of what happened.

I would agree again with Michael to say it's hard to understand this, even after I've just said let's wait. I do think there's one tremendous irony here that we're missing, and that is the United States has one of the most, if not the most decentralized police department situations on the globe.

We have something like 17,000 police agencies in this country, some with as few as one officer and the irony here is that we are expecting because of the incidents of violence against children in this country that a tiny town with a handful of officers will have ironclad policies, procedures, rules, and training for how to respond to a shooter like this.

This says as much about the state of America and the state of disperse policing as it does about an individual police department, that we expect them to know how to do this because this is common and everyday in America today.

ACOSTA: And Michael, you mentioned the guidelines, CNN has obtained guidelines from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement where it makes it clear, we can put this up on screen.

An officer's first priority is to move and confront the attacker. The document also says a first responder unwilling to place the lives of the innocent above their own safety should consider another career field. I mean, what do you make of these guidelines?

FANONE: I mean, those are the guidelines. Again, law enforcement requires you to, as an individual, make certain sacrifices, and they're difficult. It's difficult to ask a human being to put themselves in that position. but you know, at the end of the day, that's the job, and that's what's required of you.

ACOSTA: And Phil, we've learned that the gunman was in a classroom closet. You know, when all of this was going down, and law enforcement entered the room, he began shooting. Is that something that officers are typically trained and expected to face in situations like that?

MUDD: Oh, yes, I've even been in some of that training. You're talking about clearing a room, that is going into a closed space with four walls. Officers are looking at different directions in different corners ensuring that they don't cross fire with each other. If you're going to take fundamental training on how to secure a building and how to secure a room, what they call clearing a room is sort of like 101. Every officer should have that training.

ACOSTA: And Michael, and Phil, I'll put this to both of you, you know, the gun control -- go ahead, Michael. FANONE: Yes, so I just want to I guess chime in on that, I mean, I

agree with Phil, like room clearing, those types of tactics, that training is -- it is Policing 101 for those types of scenarios, but unfortunately, because of a variety of different constraints whether it's financial, whether it's, you know, resource availability, most police departments are not properly training the average officer to encounter a scenario like that. You know, what I would describe as familiarization, not training.

To me, training is providing the officers the ability to train in a stressful environment and enable them to perform under stress. You know, I worked in the training environment for a number of years, and we used to say that, you know, individuals don't rise to the occasion, they fall back on their training. And so I do see that as being wholly inadequate in our law enforcement community today.

MUDD: Let me -- this sounds boring, but let me tell you what Michael said is not going to be emphasized. We should be picking up on this at CNN. The difference between familiarization and training, again in a country with 17,000 agencies.

When I underwent this training the expense of this is phenomenal. You're talking about having a facility where you can do this, having trainers to do this, doing it for days at a time with specialized equipment.

Each of those officers undergoing a training needs individualized responses, sometimes you're going to videotape the training so the officers can see themselves, and we're anticipating that forces with let's say six to four officers, six to eight officers across America get this? Good luck with that. It's not going to happen.

ACOSTA: All right, Michael Fanone, and Phil Mudd, thank you both, gentlemen. Really appreciate it.

FANONEW: Thank you.

ACOSTA: All right. Coming up, as we mentioned, just a four-hour drive from Uvalde, the NRA convention is underway in Houston. We'll talk to a former NRA operative next.

[17:14:40]

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ACOSTA: Just days after the mass shooting at the Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas the NRA gathered 275 miles away in Houston for their annual convention. Speakers included Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Senator Ted Cruz and former President Trump. This was their message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOVERNOR GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): There are thousands of laws on the books across the country that limit the owning or using of firearms. Laws that have not stopped madmen from carrying out evil acts on innocent people in peaceful communities. DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When Joe Biden

blamed the gun lobby, he was talking about Americans like you. As always in the wake of these tragedies, the various gun control policies being pushed by the left would have done nothing to prevent the horror that took place, absolutely nothing.

SENATOR TED CRUZ (R-TX): We must not react to evil and tragedy by abandoning the constitution or infringing on the rights of our law- abiding citizens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[17:19:51]

ACOSTA: With me now is Richard Feldman, a former NRA lobbyist and the president of the Independent Firearm Owners Association. He's also the author of "Ricochet: Confessions Of A Gun Lobbyist".

Richard, thanks for being with us. You're no longer with the NRA. What role did you specifically play in what the NRA has become today in terms of the role of pushing Republican leaders to be completely inflexible on gun control?

RICHARD FELDMAN, PRESIDENT, INDEPENDENT FIREARM OWNERS ASSOCIATION: Well, I didn't play any role in that. When I was at NRA in the 1980s, it was a far more bipartisan organization. In fact, the CEO that hired me at the time, Wayne LaPierre's predecessor was a Democrat who had been appointed by Lyndon Johnson to head the border patrol.

So it was a very different organization at the time.

ACOSTA: And how do you account for where things stand today, where it is almost like a GOP convention with some of the major figures of the party speaking there. We saw video just yesterday of Trump sort of dancing around a little bit on stage after his speech was over in what was kind of a celebratory atmosphere. And they're all sort of repeating the same NRA talking points.

How did it become this stronghold inside the GOP?

FELDMAN: Well, you know, there's a lot of reasons for it, but we've become so partisan on so many issues.

You know, oddly enough, in the last 20 years or so when I've spoken around the country, I find that when you ask the right question, the American people don't have much to argue about.

And I know that sounds strange, but I've never met a gun owner or a non-gun owner that thinks it's a good idea for dangerous, mentally- challenged individuals to have access to guns, violent predatory criminals or unsupervised juveniles.

So our fight is really about the politics of this issue, not the policy. And there are things we could do very quickly and there are things that we really need to think out because it's better to have a good strategy, well-executed than to run off half-cocked and do things that don't work.

For starters, both shooters in the last two weeks were 18 years old when they legally bought their guns. We don't allow 18-year-olds to buy a beer or a glass of wine, and yet they can legally purchase a long gun but not a handgun.

When Congress reconvenes, we could change that very quickly and raise the age of buying a long gun to 21, at least until we think this out.

I'd also urge the president to start really a national mass shooting task force because there are a lot of good ideas, there are a lot of ideas that have unintended consequences.

We need to think out because it is complicated. It is multijurisdictional and multidimensional. And we need to be thoughtful upon how we proceed and what we do.

But we used to be at least a very smart country. We were able to go to the moon. We can do it again if we set our minds to it and we go about it in an organized, intelligent fashion.

ACOSTA: The head of the NRA right now is Wayne LaPierre. He spoke last night. Let's listen to what he had to say and talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WAYNE LAPIERRE, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION: Restricting the fundamental human right of law-abiding Americans to defend themselves is not the answer. It never has been.

The NRA will never ever stop fighting for the right of the innocent and the law-abiding to defend themselves against the evil criminal element that plagues our society because we know there can be no freedom, no security, no safety without the right of the law-abiding to bear arms for self-defense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: You say the current NRA leadership undermines not only common sense solutions but also the interests of its own members. What role, you know, should the NRA be playing in all of this? It seems like the role that they play is just obstruct everything.

FELDMAN: Well, once again, they're kind of hooked on the politics of the issue and, after all, they're not elected officials. We have to look to Congress. It's Congress's responsibility and our state legislature's to take this issue and look at it carefully.

[17:24:50]

FELDMAN: There are a lot of suggestions being thrown out there, but one thing I'm certain of, if we vilify and demonize the 100 million firearm owners in this country that didn't misuse their guns, we're going to have the same gridlock that we always end up with up to now after any of these horrible shootings. We're in agreement after all on who shouldn't have firearms, and yet we allow the things we disagree about to prevent us from moving forward on the things we're in agreement with.

It's time to stop that, and I ask the president to do what he can and set up this commission, and let's do this --

ACOSTA: But I have to ask Richard -- I hear what you're saying. But it seems to me, you can ask the president to set up a commission, you can plead with lawmakers to pass legislation, but the NRA time and again puts money in the campaign coffers of Republican politicians, we were analyzing this earlier in this program where 99, 100 percent of all of their contributions go to Republican politicians and because of the filibuster in the senate, things don't go anywhere.

And I mean, I just have to ask, you know --

FELDMAN: Sure.

ACOSTA: -- what do you think of that reality of the situation? And I guess the overall question that I would have is wouldn't the country -- wouldn't this country be better off without an NRA?

FELDMAN: You know, money doesn't vote. People vote. And if you talk about getting rid of an organization that you disagree with like the NRA, you're talking about the First Amendment. There are lots of organizations I disagree with. I wish they didn't exist, but freedom is the right to have all these voices out there.

And in our democracy, we allow people to articulate their perspectives, their points of view, and if they're successful at getting enough people to support their candidates, they win. Now --

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: I understand all that, all of these organizations have a right to exist and say what they want to say. But I have to ask, sir, you used to work for the NRA. You were a lobbyist for them. Do you wish that you had never worked for the NRA?

I mean it seems to me, you know, and I think a lot of people agree with this, they are the biggest impediment to getting anything done on this issue in terms of stopping mass shootings in this country.

FELDMAN: Well, then we disagree on that. I think we're focused on the wrong spot. I also ran the Firearm Industries Association after NRA. and I'm responsible for getting child safety locks included in every firearm that shipped in America. Now, that didn't exactly endear me at the time to NRA's leadership, so we parted company on some things.

The NRA doesn't have a lot. The power on this issue isn't in the money. The power is with the people. Barney Frank wrote about it in his book. He always has said what the NRA has done so well is using the tools of democracy to get what their membership wants. But their membership doesn't want guns in the hands of crazy people.

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: But if the tools of democracy grind to a halt because of a filibuster -- if the tools of democracy grind to a halt because of a filibuster and you have a certain number of Republican senators in the Senate who are unwilling to negotiate on the issue because they are recipients of campaign contributions from the NRA, and they have been for years and they don't want to do away with that. Don't you agree, sir, that that's a problem?

FELDMAN: It's a problem when I don't like the outcome. It's a benefit when I do. So it's really outcome determinative, and it's not just Republicans. There's several Democrats in the Senate, after all, the Senate is controlled --

ACOSTA: Not that many --

FELDMAN: -- by the Democrats.

ACOSTA: But sir, they only have 50 votes. You need 60 votes to get past the filibuster.

FELDMAN: And if the Republicans were to control the Senate after this year's election, I'm sure there's going to be a lot of Democrats going, boy, having a filibuster isn't such a bad idea after all.

ACOSTA: All right. Richard Feldman, thank you very much for your time. We've got to move on to the next thing, but thanks for spending time with us. We appreciate it.

FELDMAN: You bet.

ACOSTA: We're back in a moment.

[17:29:26]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he's livid after law enforcement changed their story and admitted a wrong decision was made in their response to Tuesday's school shooting in Uvalde, but Abbott is not the only one who's angry. At that same news conference Friday, the governor was interrupted by a state senator representing the district. I spoke to that state lawmaker shortly after he confronted the governor. Here's our conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Why did you decide to confront Governor Abbott tonight, and what are you demanding of him in light of this horrific massacre?

ROLAND GUTIERREZ (D), TEXAS STATE SENATE: Jim, I represent this district. First off, Governor Abbott and his staff didn't even invite me to this event. Secondly, as I listened to him talk about state health services and what we offer to people and talk about reimbursing someone for a pair of glasses, it just sickened me. The fact is -- I'm sorry. The fact is we're just -- these Republicans, this governor is responsible for why these things happen.

No way in the world an 18-year-old should ever have access to this type of weaponry, should be able to go into a store and access that kind of militarized weaponry.

[17:35:03]

I've had enough. I've been here for three days. I have been talking to my constituents. They've had enough, and they want to see change. And so I've asked him, my colleagues in the Democratic caucus are asking for a special session, Jim. It's time. We have to have real solutions here.

ACOSTA: And you heard the governor say that -- or claimed that he was misled about what happened and say that he was livid. What was your response to that?

GUTIERREZ: You know, the fact is, Jim, I mean, I'm here every day trying to solve problems for people, making sure that we have adequate resources. I have -- you know, he's the leader of this state, and he wants to talk to us about, you know, gun solutions that I think he was asked today whether an 18-year-old should have a gun, and he says, well, look, we've had laws on the books for 60 years.

That's when we were able to hunt squirrels with our .22 rifles. At the end of the day, we have to do what's right for our citizens. Technology has changed. We shouldn't have this kind of militarized weaponry, and this man has failed us, and he has failed to respond to that particular issue. As to what happened over here, you know, my concern with what happened today is the law enforcement that were here in place.

At what point does our state agencies begin to take operational control? Nowhere should have taken over an hour to get into that building, an hour and 13 minutes to get into that building. I've talked to little children that were in the building, talked to a little girl just right now. And she said -- I said, are you brave? She says first I was scared, but then I got brave. And I'm sorry. I'm just so flustered and frustrated with all this, Jim. I don't know what to do anymore. I don't know what to tell people anymore. I do apologize to you.

ACOSTA: I have to ask you --

GUTIERREZ: It's been a hard, hard three days.

ACOSTA: I know it has been, Senator, and I wonder, you know, when you hear the police admit that they made the wrong decision earlier today and these shifting stories and now the finger pointing has begun, do you believe that you've been lied to this week? What is your response to, you know, the police when they come out and say when the Department of Public Safety comes out and says that they made the wrong call? Are you getting any straight answers?

GUTIERREZ: Yesterday the Department of Public Safety -- yes, yesterday they told me that we wouldn't get a full picture until Saturday. I said I urge you to make sure that we have a timeline by tomorrow. People are demanding transparency. And so we get their timeline today and the first thing that we hear is, you know, the school district police had operational control, and then it's the police.

Listen, we all know what happens in an active shooter situation. He's already said they made a mistake, but at the end of the day, if our state troopers were here at some point, someone needs to take it a higher level of operational control. So there are still answers that have gone -- there are still questions that have gone unanswered. I don't want to Monday quarterback this whole thing, but I'll tell you that there is some responsibility that should be held -- there should be some accountability.

And that accountability is with the policymakers that control this state. I asked for a red flag bill in 2019. That bill was killed in committee. It went nowhere. In 2019 they passed open carry. The last thing I said on my floor speech, the last thing I said was, I said because of this bill, kids are going to die. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that that would happen, that that bit of hyperbole would happen in my own district. Never did I think.

ACOSTA: All right, Texas State Senator Roland Gutierrez, thank you very much for your time this evening. Thank you very much for --

GUTIERREZ: I'm so sorry.

ACOSTA: -- opening up your heart to us this evening. We appreciate it. We do.

GUTIERREZ: It's been a long three days. I apologize for my frustration.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: They're definitely still hurting down there in Texas. My thanks to Roland Gutierrez for that conversation.

Coming up, millions of travelers hit the road for the holiday weekend amid record high gas prices. How much drivers are now paying across the country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:43:53]

ACOSTA: The Department of Health and Human Services has invoked the Defense Protection Act for a third time to get formula companies the raw material they need to boost production. Shipments from the Biden administration's Operation Fly Formula will soon be hitting store shelves. Nestle says 40 percent of its Gerber hypoallergenic specialty formula that arrived in the U.S. Wednesday will be shipped to stores by the end of the day tomorrow.

And Danone Food Company says half a million cans of its specialty formula should get to families in the first half of July. They definitely need that. If July is in your -- I should say if travel is in your Memorial

weekend plans, expect to pay more, a lot more. Prices at the pump are way up, on average $0.47 a gallon up from a month ago. Up more than $1.50 from one year ago.

CNN's Pete Muntean breaks down what that means beyond just the pain at the gas pump.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Single dad Eric Stevens says he makes $110,000 a year. But even that is not enough to afford a trip to the lake. Here in Los Angeles, $6 a gallon gas has kept his plans in park.

[17:45:02]

ERIC STEVENS, FATHER IN ENCINO, CALIFORNIA: Maybe for the affluent, they can afford it. But for me to go anywhere is minimum a $200 decision in regards to gas. And you haven't fed your kids or done anything else.

MUNTEAN: GasBuddy says holiday weekend gas prices are the highest they have been since 2012. But the pain goes beyond the pump. New data says hotels have jumped 42 percent compared to last year. Airfare is up 6 percent.

ANDREW GROSS, SPOKESMAN, AAA, INC.: This will likely be one of the most expensive Memorial Day travel periods we've ever seen.

MUNTEAN: Even still, AAA thinks Americans will not be stopped, traveling to top destinations such as Orlando, Seattle, Miami and Las Vegas. The latest projection, 34.9 million people will drive 50 miles or more over the five days around Memorial Day.

(On-camera): Do you think that the numbers will be all that far off from the projection?

GROSS: You know, we've never -- our projections have always been pretty accurate. But we've never been trying to project in an environment like this.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): The new fear is this expensive start to summer travel could last. GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan thinks the average price of gas will not dip below $4.50 for months.

PATRICK DE HAAN, HEAD OF PETROLEUM ANALYSIS, GASBUDDY: I don't really think the higher price of fuel is going to slow down many. It may slow down some. But certainly, there are still a very healthy appetite to hit the road this summer.

STEVENS: You ready for school, baby girl?

MUNTEAN: Not so for Eric Stevens, who says he's choosing to pay for his daughter's daycare over a road trip. STEVENS: Fun has been postponed for the indefinite future, especially

the way things are going. While I'd like to say our hope there's an end in sight, I just don't see one.

MUNTEAN (on-camera): One more data point, even when you adjust it for inflation, gas prices are the highest we have seen since Memorial Day 2012, a 10- year high. Traffic is going to feel more like 2019 pre- pandemic levels so not all the way back just yet. The point is, be patient on the roads and really pad your wallet. This trip is going to cost you.

Pete Muntean, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Break out the aviators and bomber jackets, "Top Gun: Maverick" is flying high at the box office. Analysts are now predicting that the sequel to the 1986 blockbuster could bring in more than $100 million during the Memorial Day weekend. That would easily be a career high for star Tom Cruise whose previous biggest opening was $65 million for "War of the Worlds."

Cruise is reprising his role as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, the cocky fighter pilot who felt the need for speed 36 years ago. This time he's teaching a new class of "Top Gun" recruits. I can't wait to go out and see that movie. It looks great.

Toronto wins Carlton McCoy's heart and taste buds as he explores one of the world's most diverse cities. Here's a preview of a brand-new episode of "NOMAD WITH CARLTON MCCOY."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLTON MCCOY, CNN HOST, "NOMAD" (voice-over): Next we order something I've never tried before, comitas (PH), made with corn, basil and onions. And I love it.

(On-camera): It's almost like corn ground up in like a meat grinder and like steamed together, but it's like summertime so it's sweet as hell.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really good. I do like living here a lot. You know, Toronto is a good place for community when you have universal health care. Child care is covered in a very significant way, but in a lot of ways Canada really compares itself to America, and you know, 2020 two people were killed by cops around that time here as well. And you know, it's like something like that happens and everyone's like how did this happen, we're not America.

MCCOY: So what you're saying is like America is like the black sheep of the family.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it's like what are we Americans now?

MCCOY: So national identity is like --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're not America.

MCCOY: Like, I know it's bad, but it's not as bad as America. That's the defense?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, that's the defense.

MCCOY: That's tough to hear, I'll be honest with you, as an American.

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ACOSTA: Be sure to tune in beginning tomorrow night at 9:00 right here on CNN for "NOMAD WITH CARLTON MCCOY." And we'll be right back.

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ACOSTA: The Uvalde school massacre has left millions of Americans profoundly shaken. The school shooting happened just days after a gunman killed 10 innocent people at a supermarket in Buffalo and the shock of these violent tragedies has many parents asking, what do we say to our kids? 2014 Top 10 CNN Hero Annette March-Grier who helps children and their families cope with grief shares some advice.

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ANNETTE MARCH-GRIER, 2014 TOP 10 CNN HERO: The tragedy that we all just experienced in Texas has resulted in a traumatic event that has impacted not just Texas families. Children around the world may experience some type of stress response. It could trigger previous crises that they may have experienced. And it's really important for adults to observe the reactions that their children may have as a result of this event.

Having sleep problems and eating problems, having anxiety and worries, they may be more clingy to their parents. They may even have a fear of going to school.

Hug your child. Ask them questions about their feelings. Don't provide more information than what they are asking. Help them to understand that things happen sometimes, and we have no answers. Keep some type of structure and routine in their lives so that they can feel safe.

We all need to learn from this experience how we can best help our young people to grow up to be healthy individuals psychologically, emotionally and physically.

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And we can get through this crisis, we can get through together, supporting one another so that hopefully we can prevent something like this from ever happening again.

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ACOSTA: To learn more about the help Annette provides through her grief center in Baltimore, and to nominate someone you think should be a CNN Hero, go do CNNhero.com right now.

That's the news. Reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. I'll see you back here tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. Eastern. Pamela Brown takes over the CNN NEWSROOM live after a quick break. Good night.

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